When Safari lovers TD a Scorpio mHawk! EDIT:Its a Safari

[tsk1979]

Me and my wife both are die hard Safari lovees.
Nay, make that fanatics. Any other SUV is a blasphemy(atleast south of 10L), and the scorpio is something manufactured by the devil to keep people from tasting heaven.
Anyways, this crazy idea came to my mind, before the purchase is finalized, lets TD a mHawk.
When I float this idea to my wife, she picks up the phone to dial a psychiatrist, but after lots of coaxing etc., we both decide, whats the harm. Lets go.
So off we go to our apartment parking, and I flip the indica's ignition key to on. The glow plug warning light does not come up(the new Glow plug timer failed after 2 months of use), but I still give it 5 seconds hoping that the plugs work.
First crank, and she does not fire up. Looks like she is objecting to us jumping ship. Crank again and in a fury of smoke and acrid diesel the indica comes to life, coating the neighbours alto(for some weird reason he parks behind our indica always) with soot.
After a quiet 15 minutes later we are standing in Koyenco motors, looking a the contraption.
MY first reaction, its ugly. Nay, my wife corrects me, its plane hideous. I wants to ask the sales woman whether the designer committed suicide, but better sense prevails.
Soon a clueless saleswoman comes and tells us, you will get a TD after 10 minutes but I am not aware of anything about this vehicle because all scorpio staff is on chutti.
Well, so far so good, we can look at the vehicle at peace without a pesky guy/gal bothering us.
First step is looking at the vehicle. We look up look down, look back look front, but its not helping.
Its hideous. We imagine decals, paint colors, neon lighting, whatever, so that it can look presentable, and eventually the only solution is that don't look at it.
But to be honest the chocolate brown is starting to look less and less hideous as we keep staring at the thing. Further proof of the devils creation playing with out mind.
Next step is the interiors.
I open the door, expecting monsters to come out and devour us, but surprise of surprise its pretty okay.

I mean its decent. Too bad. The dashboard quality is actually acceptable, and the stereo controls are actually nicely integrated. I slide into the passenger seat, and wifey goes to the drivers seat, and I notice that there is barely enough space for my knees to stretch.
Well I knew it. Cramped piece of junk, claiming to be a SUV. eh?
We exchange the seats, and I accidently press the clutch pedal.
Then I press it again, and again.
Something is seriously wrong. Obviously the showroom people have disconnected the clutch to fool people.
Its too soft. Like a Honda, or a Santro! Help!
MY wife also presses the clutch, and changes the gear in the parked car.
No stress no sweat. This cannot be true.
We exchange worried glances.
Meanwhile our TD steed has come, but due to shortage of diesel we will get a short TD. Well good, who wants to spend more time in the car anyways.
We go to the parked hideous looking white contraption outside, and the guy gets in and starts the car.
Shock number two. Its quieter than a santro. Yes it is. Silent. Even on the outside. This is not supposed to happen.
We sit inside as he first takes us to the main road, and we both are exchanging looks of disbelief.
How, what ...
This thing is so silent. Its like a petrol car. And we are not even getting tossed around due to the bumpy road.
We come to the main road, and its my turn to drive it.
I press the accelerator, and there she goes.
The TD is turning out to be disbelief session. Now I am sure the Safari 2.2 we TD'd was a bad piece.
But since the safari is obviously a better vehicle, this car should have a very shoddy handling. So I yank the steering just to see the composure, and she goes like a sedan, well almost.
I floor the pedal to the metal at 60kmph in 5th gear(expecting hell breaking loose with all sorts of agricultural noises), but nada. With just a hint of clatter, she pulls cleanly to 90, at that point I slam the brakes expecting the ABS not to work, but wow, she just stops without much drama.
This is not good.
Certainly not good.
Soon I am in heavy traffic, and my right foot is not aching(indica has this tremendous ability to make everthing ache).
After this disbelief session, its wifey's turn.
she is even more surprised. She is a Santro lover, and this car is as soft and refined as the smaller hatch.
We both have been shocked beyond belief.
As she parks the car to see stop-go acceleration, the engine cuts out. And then can't start. The guy says, come off the incline, no diesel straight to workshop!
Well she does so, and drives through heavy traffic back to Koyenco. The look of disbelief on her face echo's mine.
And then we come to the logical conclusion. OF course the particular TD mule of Safari was bad, and we have to TD a safari with ABS to see the light.
So the next day, we go off to sterling, and TD the safari again. 4000kms done, first service done.
Our worst fears have come true, our deity has failed us. Its crude, its agricultural, and as you floor the accelerator in 5th gear at 70kmph, it makes weird noises. Ditto for 80. It does not like flooring at 2200rpm in 3,4,5 gears. And otherwise also there is a distinct lag before it pulls like a locomotive.
Fortunately the braking is as good as the scorpio, but the handling, well in my wife's words "Buffalo on steroids".
The whole thing shakes if you do sudden lane change maneuver.

So after two TDs we are really dejected. Our purchase decision which was as firm as mount everest has changed as much as the shifting sands of Thar.
The Hideous contraption which we simply refused to look at is a contendor, a better, more refined, more car like contender.
So is there hope for safari now?
Well yes, if Mahindra does any of these 2 things
1. Stops making 4x4 and does not offer a 4x4 VLS by July
2. The ABS 4x4 VLS is more expensive than the safari by more than 45K

To those trying to make sense out of this whole comparison, here's my views in a nutshell
1. Looks : Safari obviously
2. Handling/Performance etc., : Scorpio
3. Comfort : Tie(safari has a slight edge, but better ergonomics in scorpio)
4. VFM : Safari. The Scorpio VLS is 40K more than EX. So if we discount the 25K more for ABS, its 15K, and you don't get a roof AC!
5.NVH : The mHawk sings with a turbo whistle when you rev it, the VTT groans and krrrrrss and rattles and shakes

So July will tell what we buy(BTW Getz Crdi is the third woman)

EDIT: Sorry, I misspelled the name of the Mahindra dealer, its Koncept, not Koyenco

[Mpower]

Ah, I guess it explains why the Scorpio has been setting the sales charts afire. I've driven the type-1 Scorpio and loved the eager engine and perfect ergos. Leaf springs were crap.

Looks I guess is a personal thing but I think its looks a lot better than the type-1. A little too jazzy and too much cladding.

[sirajbose]

Excellent write up... could almost see your facial expressions when the Scorpio changed your perceptions!

I feel the Scorpio might just win the race for your next vehicle.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Talk about going to war and falling in love! Blasphemy!

IMHO, the older Scorpio looked much better. The new bumpers seem to be confused design attempt to liven things up.

Was the TD car mHawk? Did you try out the cruise control?

[cooldude1988765]

tsk1979 you should sit in the middle row of the scorpio on bumpy roads and i am pretty sure point 3 will change for you. It sure did change for me but we went the innova way.

[SumitB]

Tanveer, that was one mother of a test drive. The best comparison till date and especially digestible since it came from someone who was a little biased towards the Safari! We will soon see the war being carried on to this thread!

I am glad to see that the Scorpio offers so much to the driver that it can change one's opinion about itself. Especially true since it changed the mindset of your wife, and we all know that its difficult to influence the decision of a female. Kudos to M&M.

I will be watching closely at the decision you finally make.

[anupmathur]

TDs fade away into the past.
Finally, it is the stark ground realities that have to be dealt with on a day to day basis.
The euphoria of a 'new' vehicle also wears off. Replaced by new euphorias and more to do in life. The vehicle must perform as expected and not keep making demands upon your busy schedule.
Every visit to A.S.S. becomes a chore, and you honestly would rather not!

[akshay1234]

tsk - now take a td of the innova and add a comparison on that too.

[Samurai]

That's one heck of a TD tanveer. We went through similar emotions after TDing Safari 2.2 and GV in the same week.

Originally Posted by cooldude1988765

tsk1979 you should sit in the middle row of the scorpio on bumpy roads and i am pretty sure point 3 will change for you. It sure did change for me but we went the innova way.

Originally Posted by akshay1234

tsk - now take a td of the innova and add a comparison on that too.

For Tanveer 4WD is a must if he buying a 7L+ vehicle. That eliminates Innova.

[akshay1234]

samurai - i just thought it could be a nice honest comparison since there are quite a few threads on the forum between these 3 and whenever a question is asked people are always biased towards the car they own.

[manikjeet]

Originally Posted by cooldude1988765

tsk1979 you should sit in the middle row of the scorpio on bumpy roads and i am pretty sure point 3 will change for you. It sure did change for me but we went the innova way.

yes you are very right sat in my friends scorpio and the leg room is very less and when turning i thought it was going to roll over

[jkdas]

Nice one TSK.

Would like to know how you felt about its built quality when you compare it with Safari's. And what about the middle row comfort. And will like to know if you were able to take curves at decent speeds.

[dadu]

Very honest review tanveer.

When I was looking at the Safari 2.2l, I also looked at the Scorpio 2.6 (not 2.2l, no launch) and my deciding mantra was :

Space and Comfort
Space and Comfort
Space and Comfort

I was happy with the pickup etc, wasn't looking at sprinting any of the two. In Stop-Go traffic, couldnt feel the difference in the driving between the two (thats where we drive the most).

I was not willing to compromise with the middle seat comfort and luggage space (had no money for the roof carrier )

I was not willing to accept tall (6') people alighting from the middle seat with pains in the knee etc., which my cousins faced on their trips from Chandigarh- Delhi in Sumo, Bolero (Owned) and Scorpio.

After our (me & wife) TD of the Safari, all other's cabin space started looking smaller to us.

[WhiteKnight]

Well written. Thank you for such an unbiased review. Once you setp into Scorpio, everything feels so close to you, were as in Safari, it is expance of space that greets you. I guess it affects the way I drive both vehicles too.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Crank again and in a fury of smoke and acrid diesel the indica comes to life, coating the neighbours alto(for some weird reason he parks behind our indica always) with soot.

That was original. Too good

Originally Posted by tsk1979

After a quiet 15 minutes later we are standing in Koyenco motors, looking a the contraption.

Koyenco in Noida?

[amtak]

Excellent write up Tanveer. So, whats playing in your mind? I am wondering how good the Scorpio Hybrid would be? Are you game?